Warlord Edition

[Wraith01]

So anybody get the Warlord Edition of the Generals Handbook? 

Can the Triumph and Treachury cards be added to the Open War cards? Like used together to add something extra to the battle?

I felt tempted by the cards and just ordered it. Yeah, it's expensive and the info is included in the book but I gave in and bought it.

 

[Travis Baumann]

Please let us know what you think.  I have been on the fence, I didn't realize it was an online order only thing so when I went to GW here in Los Angeles and didn't find it I held off for now but really want the GHB.

Let us know if you feel those extra bits are worth $40... I am tempted to just break down and by the regular version locally when I grab Blightwar in 2 days.

[Arkiham]

You get some cool bits, I'll have a proper look tomorrow.

Currently at the boozer

[RuneBrush]

I finally opened mine yesterday!  I was going to do a proper unboxing but sadly was really pressed for time and the light wasn't good enough to take photos

However a (not that) brief overview.

The Warlords edition of the Generals Handbook sits in what I would term "the premium enthusiast" product bracket.  It's only available from the main GW webstore, so not opportunity to get any kind of discount on it as you would just buying the handbook.  Cost wise you're looking at £25 more than the handbook on it's own.

So what do you get for that extra £25?  When you receive the Warlord edition, you're presented with a pretty sturdy box roughly 1" deep with a Sigmar symbol on the front.  Flipping it over and opening the box, you're greeted with a host of little bits and bobs.  Firstly  you've got a half-deck set of cards containing the rules for Triumphs and Treacheries & Coalition of Death.  Unlike a lot of the other playing card sized aids, these are in an open top cardboard container which is significantly more practical than having a flap to constantly open and close (which can result in you nipping the edge of the outer card).

Next up is a set of the A5(ish) format cards we've seen for Warscrolls, but with every single battleplan from the Generals Handbook 2017.  My usual comment on font size remains (they're not the easiest to read), however I would say that they're a lot more convenient than keep flicking through the handbook for victory conditions.

One new playing aid in the set are two "trackers", one for tracking player turns and one for tracking victory points.  Both consist of a pair of dials (one for each player) with a little view port so you can rotate the dial round to monitor the turn or victory points scored.  It's a really clever little concept but let down a little by what I feel is a slightly below-par construction.  The cardboard they're made from is fairly light-weight artboard, which looks like it will soak up any moisture nearby like a sponge - so keep well away from any drinks or water splashes.  The holes that have been punched for the dial spindles appear to be marginally too large and the plastic spindles not particularly tight, so the front and back layers actually have quite a lot of play in them.

There's a pad of 50 blank army list rosters in the set too, which is a fairly novel ideal (unusually for a tear off pad, it's not got a cardboard back page so is quite floppy).  I tend to print up my army list so this isn't that useful for me, but I think it's a really good addition and can see a lot of people using them to present a neat army list at events.

The last playing aid is an A4 set of tokens which contains numerous common tokens for things like re-roll wounds, hits etc, six 40mm objective markers and two 9" range rules - advertised as intended for deployment (staying 9" away from the enemy).  I'm actually quite impressed with the token sheet and would say that it's the same quality as the tokens you find with the warscroll cards.

Last and by no means least is the Generals Handbook itself.  This is the same as the regular one you purchase, so you can comfortably take it around knowing that if it gets damaged you can replace it (unlike some of the limited edition sets in the past).  They do appear to have changed the cover of the new handbook to have a soft-touch finish, which I'm not hugely keen on as it tends to pick up marks a lot more easily.

So is it worth an extra £25 (or £28 if you take into account you can pick up the handbook cheaper from a third-party).  Yes and no.  I'm fairly happy that I've paid the extra, but I'm a massive gaming aid nut and tend to go all out for cards I can use during a game to make my life easier.  I wouldn't say you're gaining a saving really, if sold individually I expect the cost would be around the £30 mark - however you'd likely pick and choose what you wanted.  

For somebody starting out or who's a bit more strapped for cash I'd say the warlord components are an extravagance which you could easily replicate for a fraction of the cost.  Though useful, the cards are simply duplication of the contents of the handbook, the trackers can be replaced by a pen and paper, Warscroll Builder will output an army list and there are numerous tokens out there (and some would argue that a custom objective marker looks better on the table).  However if you quite enjoy popping down a custom tracker or taking up less space with a battleplan card, then go for it!

[Travis Baumann]

Thanks RuneBrush!  I think I will pass and just grab it locally with Blightwar then. 

I would really love an official set of actual modeled objective markers that look like something that would be worth fighting for.  I also wish that any markers or tokens would be done in plastic or something (I think I saw a Warmahordes pack at my local that were really nice but they may have been 3rd party).  Those type of things would be more worth the $40US.

[nuttyknatty]

I tend to agree with @RuneBrush. 

I'm a little disappointed by the Triumph & Treachery cards, as I can't really see a use for them? But the other cards for multiplayer games will be useful for reference.

The Battleplan cards are excellent in my opinion - really useful to have to hand during a game.

The tokens are perfectly usable too as is the pad of roster sheets if paper and pen is still your thing.

The trackers I really like, although as has been stated, they could be a little more sturdy. A little jolt and you may find your victory points have gone up (or down!).

 

Overall. I don't think it's worth the extra £25, although interestingly my LFGS says that they can get web exclusives with discount.

[Wraith01]

I was hoping the Triumph and Treachery cards would be useful...

I should be getting my Warlord Edition tomorrow, according to Fed-Ex tracking. 

 

@Travis Bauman - I'm pretty sure the Warmachine/Hordes tokens are official. 

[Wraith01]

I just got my copy! So excited. Everything looks beautiful. I'm really glad I got the warlord edition, it feels like Christmas. 

I'm pretty sure I'll only use the cardboard tokens when I play at home. Though I might take the cards to the next gaming night, once I sleeve them. They seam very convenient for both choosing a Battleplan and referring back to, instead of using/abusing the book. The roaster sheets would be useful if your running an event or tournament. I might just use a few... 

So, is it worth the extra $$$? Depends. I'm glad I gave in and bought it. I'm pretty sure I would have bought the cards if they were sold separately. Doubt I would have bought the rest if it wasn't included. 

[Wraith01]

[RuneBrush]

I got to use some of the bits from mine yesterday and was actually quite surprised with how well the cardboard trackers held up.  The generally got put to one side and poked as necessary.  The turn tracker I'd say isn't that useful, generally you can remember what turn it is and just using a big dice or similar is perfectly acceptable.  The victory point tracker was much more useful although it only goes up to 19 which means for some matched play battleplans, you could be exceeding the maximum it by turn three

[nuttyknatty]

10 minutes ago, RuneBrush said:

The victory point tracker was much more useful although it only goes up to 19 which means for some matched play battleplans, you could be exceeding the maximum it by turn three

Speak for yourself @RuneBrush. Some of don't even survive until turn 3!?

[RuneBrush]

27 minutes ago, The Nameless One said:

Speak for yourself @RuneBrush. Some of don't even survive until turn 3!?

Fair point actually - most of the time the VP tracker was fine, but a couple might not be

[rokapoke]

5 hours ago, RuneBrush said:

The turn tracker I'd say isn't that useful, generally you can remember what turn it is

This is very different from my experience! I look forward to using my turn counter (which I will undoubtedly forget to update for at least half of the turns anyway). 

[RuneBrush]

1 hour ago, rokapoke said:

This is very different from my experience! I look forward to using my turn counter (which I will undoubtedly forget to update for at least half of the turns anyway). 

I'm sure some people will find it really useful in truth (especially if you're playing a battleplan where you score the turn number in VPs), I've always tended to use one of the old dice cubes GW made as a turn counter so guess I just do it in a different way

[Wraith01]

A little update.

I agree, the trackers are quite sturdy and can come in handy. Same goes for the Tokens.

Over half the cards are for MultiPlayer games, 12 Battleplans plus secrets and bonuses on the small cards. Real cool if you play a lot of multi player games, if not, you'd have to find a creative way to make use of them. I was expecting more of the Realmgate Wars Battleplans, I guess the Campaign books are still useful after all. There's only 6 of those but I haven't compared to see how they change or what book they come from, and I only own the first 2 books (for now) any way. The cards/book also include 8 new battleplans, 2 of which are siege missions. All the small cards are tables for you to roll on in the book. Overall the cards are still a nice addition to any collection, specially if your group plays a lot of multiplayer games.  

 

[mclargehuge]

I think it was worth it. Having mine for a game last weekend convinced my friend to get it. All the cardboard is sturdy and the markers come in really handy.